Junior Summer Week 1 Recap

Jul 10

This past week, July 1st-July 5th, marked the beginning of the Junior Summer Program! With activities for all ages, our campers have begun exploring our local environment! The Marine Explorer groups kicked off the first week with the first Ocean Principal: Learning about the different properties of the Ocean! The Youth Sailing group started the week with safety capsizes and swim tests, before progressing to learning about the parts of the boat and beginning their sailing activities. You can find more information and see pictures of each group's adventures below!

Marine Explorers

Bay Buccaneers

This week, the Bay Buccaneers had a pirate adventure! They made their own unique maps and hunted for treasure along the beach and water. To continue their pirate adventure, instructors took out "The Mothership," our giant 17-foot paddleboard. The group paddled through the bay and marsh and pointed out different birds they saw!

Sound Swashbucklers

Sound Swashbucklers went on the Ida May and learned about the water cycle, density, surface tension, displacement, and water chemistry. On the water, they went kayaking and the mothership. When seining, a fishing method in which a large net is dragged through the water, the Soundswash Bucklers caught over 200 silverside fish plus crabs, snails, and more!

First Mates

First Mates learned about marine life and the ocean through different activites throughout the week. They cruised aboard IDA MAY, and On IDA MAY, they learned about about her maritime history and also met our local animals with a touch tank! First Mates tried out our kayaks and paddled over to 'Crab Island' for animal exploration. Lastly, they explored Beekman Beach through a scavenger hunt, seeing if they could find all the different species of animals on the beach!

Skippers

This week, the Skippers explored the harbor and learned about the connection between our local bodies of water. They went seining at Beekman beach and caught horseshoe crabs and different types of fish such as silversides and killies. On IDA MAY they learned about about her maritime history and also meet our local animals with a touch tank!

Three girls in the Skippers group on the IDA MAY

Youth Sailing

Lil’ Puffs

This week in Lil’ Puffs, we covered countless topics ranging from types of sails we may find on a sailboat, different types of sailboats, and the different points of sails. Each kid grasped the lessons with ease, so we felt more than confident handing off the tiller - or steering wheel - to each kid in Lil’ Puffs and choose how long they drove for. Additionally, each kid learned that you must point the tiller in the opposite direction you wish to go, along with a plethora of new vocabulary. Besides for sailing, we also played countless games and swam whenever we had free time!

Opti Beginners

The Opti Beginner class learned about the fundamental sailing concepts of steering with a tiller, applying points of sail, tacking, and jibing. The class started out sailing in groups of two before moving on to sailing by themselves. They practiced the concepts that they learned through activities such as playing follow the leader and racing to a coach boat. Everyone in the group significantly improved their sailing skills throughout the week.

An opti sailor performing a capsize test

Opti Intermediate

The intermediate optis began on a windy day, learning to deal with the wind with coaches in their boats. They moved on to remembering points of sail, taking on the whistle, sailing downwind, and eventually racing with a starting line and a race course, along with playing games on the water (e.g., tennis ball tag). The intermediates ended the week by sailing on a race course!

Opti Race Team

Using the wind to their advantage, the Opti Race Team went on an adventure sail to assess boat handling and practice our tacking. As the week progressed, they started developing basic racing skills and put them to use doing practice races.

C420 Beginner

This week, we had sailors with a wide range of experience. Our returning and new sailors were learning the specifics of the 420 together. We had fun sailing, practicing our tacking upwind and gybing downwind, going almost as far as Bayville. We are excited to hear that many of our sailors will continue at the WFC throughout the summer and hope they can keep improving their skills.

C420 Intermediate

With plenty of heavy wind, our sailors learned how to handle tough conditions. From hiking to keep the boat flat to using a spinnaker, we touched on some of the more advanced skills required for sailing a 420. We are super impressed with these sailors' growth and can't wait to see how they improve!

C420 Race Team

This week, the 420 race team had an awesome breeze, so they focused on trapezing and spinnaker work. Although they had to shake the rust off from the winter, it is nice to see that they have a strong base to work from with such an amazing group. With little breeze Wednesday morning, the team worked on boat optimization and splicing, followed by a longer and more productive afternoon session. We are super excited to see what the season holds for the team and how much we can grow our sailing skills!

Adventure Sailing

In the first week of the adventure sailing program at the WFC, youth sailors learned the fundamentals of handling Hobie Getaway and Wave sailboats. They mastered basic sailing techniques, and safety protocols, while gaining confidence through hands-on experience on the water.

Manaal Nabi

Manaal grew up in Syosset, NY and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Architecture with a minor in Business Management from Syracuse University. She has been working at The Waterfront Center for two years as a Front Desk Associate and currently as a Marketing Intern. She loves nature and the outdoors and is passionate about the environment and sustainable design practices.